New family-owned restaurant Sticky Rice Bites to serve Lao and Asian fusion cuisine in Rockford

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A new family-owned restaurant centered on Lao cuisine and Asian fusion fare is set to fill the former Pho 27 on the city’s east side.

Sticky Rice Bites, 298 N. Mulford Road, plans to open before the end of the month. Rowena Chanthalangsy said she has wanted to open a restaurant offering the authentic taste and culture of her home country since she and her husband, Nit, moved here from Laos 24 years ago.

“Food is a universal love language that helps people to be able to connect to anyone from any culture,” she said. “I just want people to feel like this is a place where you can hangout, you can try something new.”

The family is busy cleaning, painting and remodeling the space. Sophia Chanthalangsy, Rowena and Nit’s daughter, has been documenting the progress toward opening on Tik Tok. The Rockford Christian graduate, who is now studying industrial design at the University of Illinois, is also responsible for much of the art and decor in the restaurant.

“We want to create a space where people come not only to enjoy the food but enjoy the ambiance,” Sophia Chanthalangsy said. “We feel like there’s not really a place like this in Rockford, specifically. So we really want to try to be unique, and also cater to the Lao community in Rockford and provide a space for them.”

Sticky rice is a staple in Laos, where it’s served with most meals. It’s made from a glutinous rice that has a higher sugar content than long-grain rice. The Chanthalangsys’ restaurant will also serve purple sticky rice, a healthier option that is a blend of white and black glutinous rice.

“Everyone that tries sticky rice, they love it. It has a little sweet taste in it,” Rowena Chanthalangsy said. “Some American kids, when they try it out, they just want to eat it plain.”

Rowena Chanthalangsy said after moving to Rockford from Laos in 2000, she clung to the foods from her home country and started cooking more frequently. She also often prepared meals for her church, Lao Evangelical Free Church in south Rockford.

The restaurant will also offer pho, pad thai and som tum papaya salad, among other Asian cuisine.

It will also serve boba tea under a brand that Sophia Chanthalangsy created when making and selling bubble teas at her church. It’s called Sabaitea, a play on the Lao word for hello, sabaidee.

Another familiar and fitting phrase for customers at Sticky Rice Bites is baw phet baw saep, which essentially means that if it’s not spicy, it’s not tasty.

But customers need not fear if their palate can’t handle hot spice.

“Laotians, we love the spiciness. Everything is spicy,” Rowena Chanthalangsy said. “But the spicy level is up to the customer. Whatever they want mild, medium or really spicy.”

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On TikTok: Go HERE

Location: 298 N. Mulford Road, Rockford

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas